Abstract [en]

There has long been a demand for research showing the significance of relationships between strategies and control for the competitive advantage of complex corporate groups (see for example Bhimani and Langfield-Smith 2007; Langfield-Smith 1997; Otley 1980). Moreover, a number of such studies have been conducted, but they have not adopted the holistic approach highlighted by Nilsson and Rapp (2005), where strategies and control are treated at the corporate, business and functional levels to obtain a true understanding of their importance. More specifically, the authors maintain that it is essential to establish strategic congruence (mutually coherent corporate, business and functional strategies) and integrated control (control systems with a flow of consistent information within and between the principal mechanisms of control) in order to be competitive